Chapter 514: Cure or Harm?

Chapter 514: Curing Illness or Taking Lives?

She had Nanny An fetch some rewards for Ji Yuntang. Ji Yuntang glanced at them—mostly outdated jewelry that looked expensive but wasn't worth much.

She figured the Empress Dowager must have taken her for an ordinary country girl who wouldn't know the difference.

Ji Yuntang accepted them with a slight bow. "Thank you for your kind gifts, Empress Dowager."

"It's getting late, and my brother and sister-in-law are waiting for me to come back for dinner. If there's nothing else, I'll be on my way!"

Empress Dowager Yuan didn't stop her. After Ji Yuntang left, the smile on her face vanished instantly.

She glanced at Nanny An and ordered, "Go get Imperial Physician Wei for me."

Although her headache had eased, she still didn't quite trust Ji Yuntang. She needed Imperial Physician Wei to personally take her pulse and look over the prescription before she could trust her medical skills.

Nanny An acknowledged the order and quickly brought Imperial Physician Wei in.

When he learned why the Empress Dowager had summoned him, Imperial Physician Wei hurried forward and took the prescription from Nanny An.

After reading it, his face filled with shock. "Empress Dowager, if I may be so bold—who prescribed this formula?"

Seeing Imperial Physician Wei's reaction, Empress Dowager Yuan wrongly assumed Ji Yuntang had tricked her, and her expression turned grim.

"Just some young girl brought in from the countryside. She had the nerve to claim to my face she could cure a headache I've had for over a decade."

"Imperial Physician Wei, is there something wrong with this prescription?"

"Incredible!" Imperial Physician Wei exclaimed. "In my thirty years practicing medicine, I've never seen such a brilliant prescription. Every ingredient is precisely measured and perfectly balanced—gentle yet effective for treating headaches. The physician who wrote this is far more skilled than I am."

"Empress Dowager, there is nothing wrong with this prescription. You may take it with confidence."

Empress Dowager Yuan was stunned. She hadn't expected that Imperial Physician Wei, the director of the Imperial Medical Institute, would hold Ji Yuntang in such high regard.

He'd worked at the institute for thirty years and had always been arrogant and proud. She'd never seen him praise anyone like that before.

But the higher his praise, the better Ji Yuntang's skills must be, and the more reassured she felt.

With that in mind, Empress Dowager Yuan extended her hand. "She just did acupuncture on my head once, and I already feel much better. Take my pulse and see if there's any change from before."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Imperial Physician Wei acknowledged, placed a cloth over her wrist and began checking her pulse.

His expression went from serious to relieved and excited.

"Empress Dowager, your pulse was previously erratic with blocked qi, but now it's steadied considerably. With a few more treatments along with that prescription, your headache should improve."

Imperial Physician Wei's words were like a soothing pill for her. Empress Dowager Yuan couldn't deny she was happy.

She hadn't had any hope for Ji Yuntang, yet the girl had surprised her.

"Wonderful, truly wonderful!"

Seeing the Empress Dowager's delighted expression, Imperial Physician Wei cautiously reminded her, "Empress Dowager, if I may speak frankly, this girl is a medical prodigy. If you could recruit her to work at the Imperial Medical Institute, you'd have no trouble finding someone to cure you."

Empress Dowager Yuan thought for a moment and found his words made some sense.

Not for her own sake, but she thought of Yuanchao—he needed large amounts of tonic medicine every day.

The herbs were precious, but seventeen years of being drenched in medicine had made his life miserable.

If Ji Yuntang could help regulate his health, maybe he'd recover faster too.

A smile spread across the Empress Dowager's face. "I'll consider your suggestion, Imperial Physician Wei. I'll talk to her about it tomorrow."

"I'm tired. You may go."

Imperial Physician Wei bowed respectfully. "I'll take my leave."

Meanwhile, at the mansion of Grand General Zhenguo.

As soon as Ji Yuntang got back, she saw Xie Liuzheng and Hua Feixue waiting at the door for her. They both came rushing up.

"Sister Yuntang, you're back! Did the Old Witch give you a hard time?"

Ji Yuntang glanced at them and said, "Let's go inside and talk."

Once inside, Xie Liuzheng quickly locked the door and eagerly poured Ji Yuntang a glass of hot water.

"Have some water."

Ji Yuntang took it and took a sip right in front of him. "Thanks, brother."

Then she told them everything that had happened.

"The Old Witch had me summoned to the palace to treat her illness."

Before she could finish, Hua Feixue asked right away, "You treated her?"

Ji Yuntang spread her hands. "Of course I did. If I hadn't, she wouldn't have let me leave."

Xie Liuzheng leaned in with a sly grin and whispered, "Sister Yuntang, so did you poison her?"

Ji Yuntang found it amusing and said, "I'd love to poison her, but I never had the chance."

"You have no idea how cautious the Old Witch is. She had dozens of experts hidden around her bedchamber. She wouldn't even let me take her pulse—she made me use the silk-thread diagnosis method. Luckily, I'd actually learned that before, or I wouldn't have known what to do."

"Not to mention, she threatened me with both of your lives. If I dared poison her, she'd have someone kill me on the spot, and then kill the two of you as well."

Ji Yuntang said it lightly, but just hearing these words made Xie Liuzheng's heart race.

She hadn't gone to the palace to treat anyone—she'd walked through the gates of hell!

The Old Witch was indeed the Old Witch, just as cautious and suspicious as the rumors said.

"Sister Yuntang, if you cure her, won't that just give her more room to cause trouble?" Xie Liuzheng asked Ji Yuntang in confusion.

They already struggled to eliminate the Old Witch.

If her illness got better, it would only get harder!

Ji Yuntang narrowed her eyes, set down her teacup, and spoke calmly, "Her illness can't be cured."

Both of them looked at her. Ji Yuntang explained, "She definitely has imperial physicians tending to her. Ordinary poison wouldn't escape their notice. I could use a colorless, odorless toxin to kill her, but there's always risk. I wouldn't do that unless absolutely necessary."

"So, I chose to perform acupuncture on her."

Hua Feixue pressed, "What's so special about this acupuncture?"

Ji Yuntang asked him, "Have you heard of the Nine-Turn Soul-Returning Needle?"

Hua Feixue shook his head. Ji Yuntang smiled. "It's one of the four great ancient needling techniques recorded in ancient texts. Legend says the Nine-Turn Soul-Returning Needle can revive a patient on the brink of death, pulling them back from the gates of hell."

"I think the books exaggerate a bit. The Nine-Turn Soul-Returning Needle can save lives, but it can't raise the dead."

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